单选题   Urbanization—migration away from the suburbs to the city center—will be the biggest real estate trend in 2015, according to a new report.
    The report says America's urbanization will continue to be the most significant issue affecting the industry, as cities across the country imitate the walkability and transit-oriented development making cities like New York and San Francisco so successful.
    As smaller cities copy the model of these '24-hour cities,' more affordable versions of these places will be created. The report refers to this as the coming of the '18-hour city,' and uses the term to refer to cities like Houston, Austin, Charlotte, and Nashville, which are 'positioning themselves as highly competitive, in terms of livability, employment offerings, and recreational and cultural facilities.'
    Another trend that looks significant in 2015 is that America's largest population group, Millennials (千禧一代), will continue to put off buying a house. Apartments will retain their appeal for a while for Millennials, haunted by what happened to home-owning parents.
    This trend will continue into the 2020s, the report projects. After that, survey respondents disagree over whether this generation will follow in their parents' footsteps, moving to the suburbs to raise families, or will choose to remain in the city center.
    Another issue affecting real estate in the coming year will be America's failing infrastructure. Most roads, bridges, transit, water systems, the electric grid, and communications networks were installed 50 to 100 years ago, and they are largely taken for granted until they fail.
    The report's writers state that America's failure to invest in infrastructure impacts not only the health of the real-estate market, but also our ability to remain globally competitive.
    Apart from the specific trends highlighted above, which cause some investors to worry, the report portrays an overall optimism borne by the recent healthy real-estate 'upcycle' and improving economy. Seventy-four percent of the respondents surveyed report a 'good to excellent' expectation of real-estate profitability in 2015. While excessive optimism can promote bad investment patterns, resulting in a real-estate 'bubble,' the report's writers downplay that potential outcome in that it has not yet occurred.
单选题     According to the new report, real estate development in 2015 will witness ______.
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】事实细节题。根据题干关键词real estate development in 2015定位到第一段。该段指出人口将从郊区向城市中心流动，并且这是2015年房地产行业最大的趋势。换句话说，2015年的房地产发展将向市中心转移。故选B。
单选题     What characterizes '24-hour cities' like New York?
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推理判断题。根据题干关键词24-hour cities和New York定位到第二、三段。这两段告诉我们，一些较小的城市也在复制纽约这样的“24小时城市”的模式。第三段最后一句则说明了这种模式的特点，“在宜居性、就业机会和娱乐文化设施方面具有极强的竞争力”，即城市生活的服务很周到，可以全天候享受服务。故选C。
单选题     Why are Millennials reluctant to buy a house?
 
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】事实细节题。根据题干关键词Millennials定位到第四段。该段首句指出千禧一代继续推迟买房，第二句指出原因：haunted by what happened to home-owning parents，即受父母负面买房经历的困扰。put off与reluctant为同义替换；haunt为原词复现；what happened to home-owning parents是对Their parents' bad experience的解释说明。故选C。
单选题     What might hinder real estate development in the U.S.?
 
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】事实细节题。根据题干hinder一词，可知本题是谈论可能阻碍美国房地产发展的因素。由三、四段可知，千禧一代推迟买房是一个阻碍因素，但选项中并未出现。第五段首句“Another issue affecting real estate...will be America's failing infrastructure.”则指出了另一因素，即落后的基础设施。failing与worsening属同义替换。故选D。
单选题     How do most of the respondents in the survey feel about the U.S. real-estate market in 2015?
 
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】推理判断题。根据文章最后一段中间部分Seventy-four percent of the respondents surveyed report a 'good to excellent' expectation...可知74%的受访者对2015年的房地产有“良好的”预期。即这些人对2015年房地产的发展是乐观的，觉得是有希望、有前途的。故选B。